Sir Lenny Henry is breaking down the art of comedy in this latest Channel 4 passion project, interviewing four iconic British comics about how they embraced their funny bone. Over four episodes, Legends of Comedy sees Smack the Pony’s Sally Phillips and The Ranganation’s Romesh Ranganathan chat about making the public laugh - and Lenny admits that it’s inspired him to return to his stand-up roots after 15 years and made him jealous of those in comedy partnerships.
“It made me go, ‘Actually, I really fancy just getting up and doing stand up,’” the 66-year-old says. “It’s made me have lots of thoughts about it. I don’t know if I’d do it because I like acting, but there’s something very lovely about walking on stage on your own with an audience who’s paid money to see you.” If Lenny were to return to the mic, he wouldn’t be afraid to delve into tougher topics. “The best comedians for me are ones who are playing a character or ones who say stuff about their family, their life, their mental health. They’re not scared to say, ‘This is what the world is like for me.’
“Richard Pryor was raw on stage and would talk about anything - his mum was a prostitute, his dad was a pimp. I remember watching him and thinking, ‘I could never do that.’ But since I wrote my book about my birth dad not being my real dad, I probably could now,” adds Lenny, who wrote about his real father being family friend Albert Green in 2019.
Having watched Paul Whitehouse perform with Harry Enfield in sketch shows and more recently with Bob Mortimer in Gone Fishing, Lenny admits that he was jealous of comedy partnerships - including the one featuring his ex-wife Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders - after being a solo act for most of his career. “I’ve always wanted to be in a comedy band. I love the idea but I was always just single,” he sighs. “I was really jealous of Dawn [French] and Jen [Saunders], and Harry and Paul. Just so jealous.”
For Legends of Comedy, Lenny sits down with The Fast Show’s Paul Whitehouse and Alexei Sayle as well as Sally and Romesh to look back on their illustrious comedy careers. While Lenny was already friends with Paul, Alexei and Romesh, it was a pleasure getting to know Sally whilst filming her episode. “I’d never really had much time with her, but she was fantastic,” he says. “She’s very funny and very courageous in terms of what she chooses to do on television and also in real life. She did things that absolutely outgunned those boys and it was really funny to watch her do it.”
Meanwhile, comic-turned-presenter Romesh candidly reveals that he was deeply insecure during his first Live at the Apollo appearance in 2013 - which Lenny can relate to. “I’m never surprised when a comedian lacks confidence. You pretend that you’re really confident when you’re on, and then when you’re off, you’re kind of worried about everything,” he says. “I was concerned about every aspect of everything I did because I was learning for a long time in my career. I was on Blankety Blank, Wednesday at Eight - and being terrible. It was six years of being not very good and my mum would say, ‘You need to get better. You’ll get better, don’t worry.’”
With Paul, Lenny explores the topic of finding humour in older age, with the two comedians now both 66. “I think old people are hilarious,” Lenny says. “I often go into a room and don’t know why I’ve gone in there. I often can’t get out of the car. I often leave everything behind and have to go back for it. I did a thing at the Royal Albert Hall last week and the whole audience was my age - it was great. It took us ages to get back into the room after the interval. I think we deserve to have our own sense of humour and we deserve to make fun of ourselves. In the end, making fun of yourself and having jokes is how you survive.”
Although, Lenny is happy to leave behind comedy shows that haven’t aged so well - like Little Britain, which features blackface in some sketches. “Thank God evolution happens and we all get older and go, ‘That was alright then, but it’s not now,’” he says. “We’ve a much more diverse country now and everybody wants to be included in laughter, not just an elite few. Back in my day, we laughed at nearly everything in my house except when the black and white minstrels came on. It’s only as you get older that you get more mature and more picky about what you like. It’s not about being politically correct, it’s just about your personal taste. It’s alright if you still like Tommy Cooper and the Carry On films, God bless you.”
If Comedy Legends does return, Lenny has a few ideas for series two. “If I could get [Australian comic] Hannah Gadsby, that would be good. I saw her live in Edinburgh and she was wonderful,” he says. “I’d try to get Dave Chappelle to talk about transgression and crossing the line. He goes there and often hasn’t really thought about it - I find that fascinating. And Steve Martin, of course!”